


Meaning of Marigolds

by Kazel_Menra



Series: The Ladycat Arc [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma picture at end, F/M, combining miraculous, crazy fights, ladycat, plant akuma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-04-29 17:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazel_Menra/pseuds/Kazel_Menra
Summary: A plant akuma attacks Paris drawing the superhero duo into a battle that will change their lives forever.Part two of Ladycat Arc





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is up on Youtube if you want to go take a listen. I read and recorded it myself so please forgive any mistakes, odd noises, and so on. Picture of Akuma is at very end. I draw, ink, and color them myself too. Soryy about the photo quality.

Her name was Mary and she was a normal happy little 6 year old girl. At least she was a happy little girl until her mom had ended up in the hospital due to an accident. She had been distraught over it until her teacher had come up with a brilliant idea. Since Mary often talked of how she gardened with her mom she had every one bring in a small flower pot and had given each child a random seed for them to take care of. Out of every ones Marys had done the best, growing swift and strong as the days went by, mirroring her moms recovery in the hospital. She had overheard the doctor say her mom might be able to come home soon and she was excited to be able to show her mom the tiny blossom at the end of the week. Knowing how much Mary related the tiny plants well being with her moms recovery her teacher wrote out a special pass with a smile. The children were supposed to keep their plants at school for safe keeping but she wanted Mary to bring it to the hospital so she could show her mom its progress that day on her lunch break. Little Mary was practically overflowing with joy as she made her way home from school on her lunch break, skipping past the park where the older children played. She forgot to be alert as she passed the park her, mind all tangled up in how proud her mom was going to be. Usually she had to be alert when she passed the park because sometimes the boys in the park were mean to her. After a small run of bad luck the boys had dubbed her Marigold, which normally wouldn’t be a bad thing but because little Mary liked gardening and flowers she knew that the meaning of Marigolds were misfortune. It annoyed her but her mom had always taught her to turn the other cheek so that’s what she did. 

Until today.

Today they had gone too far and now she was kneeling by her broken pot that had 4 Mommy written on it, clutching the limp blossom in her hands as tears silently slipped down her cheeks. She didn’t notice the black butterfly land on her limp plant nor did she notice the boys still laughing at her distraught form. She did take notice of the smooth warm voice that seemed to echo as if it came over a vast distance. 

"Little Marigold. Those boys are so cruel. I can help you take revenge. I can help you grow a magnificent garden to show your mother. All you have to do is bring me the Miraculous. How does that sound little Marigold?" 

"Yes Please." Little Mary answered and the darkness consumed her.

Marinette aka Ladybug was on her lunch break. She really loved having the ability to go home and eat or nap as she pleased. Living above a bakery meant she always had fresh snacks and sweets, many of which she stored in her purse for her kwami Tiki. 

"Oh Tiki I don’t want to go back to school." Marinette said stretching out on her lounger in the sun. It was a perfect day, not too hot or cold with a light pleasant breeze. 

Tiki giggled floating just above her charges shoulder. "I'm not surprised! Its such a nice day it’s a shame to have to go back indoors."   
Marinette groaned as her alarm on her phone went off telling her that she needed to start heading back to school if she didn’t want to be late. Slowly she climbed to her feet with a sigh. "Maybe I will have the courage to ask Adrien to the botanical garden this Friday." 

"You will have to get to school first!" Tiki replied earning herself another groan from Marinette before diving into her purse. 

Marinette was out the door moments later book bag in hand and she made it to school on time. Somehow she even managed to get there before her friend Alya which was amazing and odd. She sighed instantly distracted as her crush Adrien walked in talking to Nino and blushed fiercely as he asked "Did you have a good lunch Marinette?" 

She nodded her heart fluttering wildly and managed to stutter out "Y-yep all good. Did you lunch eat… I mean lunch…" her voice trailed off in a squeak as he beamed a smile her way. 

"My lunch was pretty normal." He answered good naturedly having become more accustomed to her inability to speak coherent sentences around him. 

Marinette nodded jerkily and Adrien had to hide a smile. He would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy seeing Marinette so tongue tied. After all she was so darn cute blushing like that. He had thought their secret meetings to sing together would ease the stutter out of her and in all honesty it had a little. However, when he caught Marinette off guard the stutter would return full force. Time was his friend here and truthfully Adrien was a bit surprised Alya or Nino hadn’t tried to crash their meetings yet. As an echoing blush started in his own cheeks he had to turn away thanking the fact their teacher chose that moment to walk into class. The bell rang moments later and as the class quieted down their teacher got out the needed supplies for that lesson before finally looking up as silence settled over the room.

"Welcome back class. We will be continuing… Yes Marinette?" their teacher asked pausing mid sentence. 

"Um Alya hasn’t come back yet. May I call her and make she hasn’t overslept or something?" Marinette asked. 

Their teacher nodded and Marinette darted out the door phone in hand and on what looked like a video of some sort. A strange niggling in the back of Adriens mind made him pull his own phone out from under the desk and scroll to a favorite site called the Ladyblog that Alya ran. A new video was posted and he watched in horror as a live feed of vines taking over down town played on the tiny screen. He stood up so fast his chair slammed to the ground causing the whole room to jump and the teacher to whirl on him. 

"Mr Agreste!" she cried flabbergasted by his actions. 

Adrien barely heard her, his attention solely focused on the little screen before him. Plants were coming to life and the riot of green was coming their way. Ladybug would need his help! 

"I… I mean we… that is…" Adrien managed still eyeing the screen with growing horror. 

Nino stared at his friend wondering what on earth had happened. It was rare to see his friend fail, and so spectacularly at that. In the next moment he didn’t have to wonder though because over the speakers came the principals voice issuing and alert. 

"There seems to be a wall of plant life attacking downtown and it is no longer safe on these premises. Please exit in an orderly fashion and head away from the downtown area." 

Adrien was up and over the desk in a moment darting out the door before his friend could think to call after him. He made his way up to the roof, managing to get to the third floor before the halls became mobbed with dozens of students and teachers. 

"Plagg… PLAGG!" he called jiggling his coat pocket roughly until the tiny kwamis head poked up from his pocket. 

"What? I was having a nice nap…" the Kwami complained yawning. 

"No more time for napping Plagg there's an akuma on the loose we've got to help Ladybug! Claws out!" Adrien snapped and transformed as Plagg was sucked into his ring. 

The transformation took mere seconds and then he was leaping from rooftop to rooftop watching for any sign of his lady. As he headed towards the center of town, vines came to life attacking from every angle. More than once he was forced to use his claws to break himself or some poor person free of the clinging vines. He was starting to panic as he moved further into the riot of green, he still hadn't found Ladybug though her could practically feel she was nearby. Finally he spotted her in a small square fighting to free herself from several vines that had blocked off the usual street access exits. She was wielding her yoyo like a weed-whacker as she spun it round her petite form to keep the vines off her. From his vantage point he could tell she had no way out. She couldn't use her yoyo to escape because the moment it stopped spinning, the vines would most likely swarm her. Running was out of the question too because other than the small circle surrounding her feet vines had covered every other inch of space in the courtyard. Biting his lip Chat looked around and after a moment spotted a cord that spanned the distance over the courtyard. Hoping his luck would hold just once he slashed through the cord and swung out over the space like Tarzan. 

"My Lady!" he cried as he swung right at her. 

Ladybugs gaze caught his and timing it perfectly leapt straight up keeping her yoyo spinning beneath her to keep the attacking vines from ensnaring her ankles as she left the ground. Chats free arm slid around her waist and she covered their backs as he landed on the rooftops. Keeping his hold on her Chat darted away from a thicket that sprang straight up through the roof pulling her along with him as the vines tried to capture them. Within moments Ladybug wiggled out of his hold keeping pace beside him as they slashed their way across the rooftops.

"I've heard the phrase 'growing like a weed' but this is ridiculous!" Chat said and Ladybug groaned as she shoved him out of the way of a particularly thorny bramble. 

"Focus you silly cat, unless you want to become fertilizer!" Ladybug snapped slashing her way through several vines though they were quickly becoming backed into a corner. 

Chat caught her eye as he tore several vines to ribbons and completely deadpan answered "That would stink My Lady."

"I guess I stepped right into that one." Ladybug snorted unable to keep the nervousness from her voice as their backs met a chimney. 

Chat managed a dry chuckle but he realized that the only reason she was cracking any kind of joke was because they were in trouble. A wall of greenery surrounded them on all sides and they were both panting, tired from the way they had to fight this strange new foe. The vines shivered to a halt mere feet away, and they remained back to back ready for the next attack. Suddenly from the main wall a bud began to swell. A large Marigold flower, the size of a humans head bloomed from the bud and like something from Alice in wonderland the thing began to speak. 

"I am Marigold and I am her to take your Miraculous!" The flower announced

Chat and Ladybug shared a 'what the heck?' glance before turning their attention back to the talking flower. 

"Wait so that’s it? You just want our Miraculous and you will stop this growing frenzy?" Ladybug asked directing Chat to get behind her with a hand. He glanced down at his staff then up realizing the vines hadn't grown over them. So far the vines had simply hedged them in on all sides, but the akuma hadn’t thought to cover the sky yet. Nodding he moved behind her one arm pulling her firmly against him as he awaited her signal. 

"Well no those boys deserve to be punished and the butterfly man promised he would help me grow a pretty garden for my mommy if I got them." The flower answered the cadence of her voice slipping to sound more like a child. 

"Your Mommy? How old are you?" Ladybug asked

"I’m 6." The flower answered and Ladybug felt Chat stiffen against her. This was the youngest Akumasized victim they ever had to face and so far it was the most potent. 

Trying to keep her voice calm and soothing Ladybug spoke softly since the child seemed to be in a talking mood. "Instead of fighting how about we help you get to your mom? Chat and I can…" 

"NOOOO!" the Flower wailed "I can't see her till the garden is done!!! They will be mad!!! It’s all their fault!!!" The vines slung forward in an attack and Chat activated his staff sending them sky high.

The vines swarmed up the staff after them and Chat snapped it back to its normal shortened length, forcing the vines to drop away. At the same moment Ladybug slung her yoyo out to a higher building pulling them away from the danger below. Clinging to her Chat watched as the flower and vines attempted to swarm after them. 

"They won't get away!" Marigolds voice yelled at the exact moment their feet hit the ground.

"We need to find her main body!" Ladybug yelled to Chat even as they ran for their lives. 

"Lets get out of this tangle of weeds first!" Chat replied as they ducked, dodged and weaved around attacking vines.

"My garden is not weeds!" Marigold screeched as the skidded to a halt at the edge of the last rooftops. 

A plaza lay before them the cobbles completely coated in vines. There was no way they were going to be able to cross the plaza and the swarming vines had already taken over the rooftops on the other side. Ladybug glanced around looking for a way out and seeing the river, she knew it was their only option. 

"Ready for a bath Kitty?" Ladybug asked as she started a sprint for the corner of the roof.

Seeing her gaze Chat groaned "Plagg is going to hate me." Before following her lead and sprinting for the side of the roof closest to the river.   
It was a mad dash, with the vines coming from all sides following hungrily, eager to wrap them in their clutches. The superhero duos feet left the roof at the same time and as they jumped Chat knew they hadn't jumped far enough. Ladybug could always use her yoyo to swing them back so they didn’t splat on the vine covered cobbles below but it wasn’t much of an option. The plaza streaked below them covered in vines as they began their decent and now the rooftops behind them held the same green promise.

"Ladybug!" he yelled holding out his hand to her falling figure. 

Trusting him completely she twisted midair into his arms wrapping hers tight around his neck. For a moment Chat purred at the feeling then swung his staff out forcing it to swiftly grow. It slammed into the ground jolting them both roughly before their added forward momentum drove them onwards launching them into the river. They splashed down hard, the current immediately sweeping them up as they sank. Chat immediately tried to swim for the surface his cat instincts wanting him out of the water now, but Ladybug pulled on him shaking her head as she swiftly tied her yoyo around his then her waist. He was confused for only a moment as they floated beneath the surface because in the next second a vine struck through the water missing them by less than a foot. Twisting round under water they swam with the current as fast as they could, swimming deeper into the murky depths as the vines drove into the water again and again as they searched for them. They stayed under for over a minute before their limited air ran out. Chat gave in first tugging Ladybugs arm and swimming rapidly for the surface bursting upwards to gasp in great gulps of air. The river had swept them deeper into Paris and by the time they managed to get to the bank they found themselves in a whole new world of greenery. Ladybug snagged a pylon with a free hand and between the two of them they managed to climb from the water even though they were connected at the waist. As soon as they stood on firm ground Ladybug untangled her yoyo from his waist blushing slightly at the extreme close contact. Trying to ease her embarrassment the moment he was free Chat shook himself much like a dog would spraying water everywhere.

"Chat!!!" Ladybug squealed backpedaling as some of the water hit her. 

Chat grinned rather lopsided at her his hair poofing up around his ears before he managed to try and smooth it down. 

"Well it has to come off one way or another! Although to be totally honest I think you look very becoming uh…" Chat trailed off turning red as she glared up at him from squeezing out her hair. He had never seen her with her hair down before and seeing it now made hit heart twist and his mind hit a dead end as he stuttered over his final words. 

Feeling herself start to turn red under his unabashed gaze she straightened and flicked water from her fingertips into his face while snapping "Alley cat." 

She stalked forward trying to squeegee as much water from her suit as possible leaving a trail of water as she climbed the embankment to the street, determined to ignore her partner. Chat followed a moment later when he had his heart slightly more under control although he didn’t think he would ever be able to get the image of his Lady hair down and soaking wet out of his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Ladybug was waiting for him by the final barrier and together they peeked up over the half wall that separated the incline they were on and the main street. There was complete silence in the street beyond and it wasn’t hard to see why. Green covered the walls and sidewalks trees randomly sprouting in every other available space. A riot of color from flowers of all species dotted the landscape making Ladybugs breath catch in wonder. 

"Wow it's too bad the city can't look like this all the time." Ladybug whispered

"Yeah but where are all the people?" Chat asked his voice just as soft as they hopped over the wall and started to make their way down the street. They were both nervous, which was honestly acceptable since they were surrounded on all sides by greenery that they knew could come to life at any time. 

They moved down the street slowly keeping an eye out for any people in hiding and for any strange movement from the plants. Spying a strange looking pod Ladybug investigated as Chat moved to look at something that caught his own attention. Gently sweeping some dirt from its membranous surface she barely withheld a shriek as she spied a face peering back from within the pod. She stumbled back into Chats arms who seeing the alarm on her face pulled her back further behind him. 

"What is it?" He hissed sweeping his staff before him wanting to poke the pod and see for himself what had alarmed his Lady so badly. 

Ladybug pressed a hand to her racing heart and gripped his shoulder with the other. "S-sorry I just wasn’t expecting that. It’s a person in that thing but I-I just wasn’t expecting that." 

Chat flashed a grin over his shoulder his stance relaxing immediately "Not one for horror films are we My Lady?" 

Ladybug shoved him roughly "Hush you rotten cat." 

Slipping his baton back into place at the small of his back he moved forward pressing a claw to the membranous surface. The person inside appeared asleep and he felt a creepy chill run up his spine even though he had know what to expect. 

"Should I try to get them out?" Chat asked curiously. "I could use cataclysm if we can't pull them out." 

Ladybug shook her head "We need to find this Marigolds main body before we can get anyone out. Plus I don’t think you can use your cataclysm enough times to free everyone."

She pointed up the street where more pods showed through the greenery and Chat grinned helplessly rubbing the back of his head. 

"After you then My Lady." Chat said gallantly bowing one hand spread towards the green covered street. 

Ladybug snorted fainting displeasure, but as she passed him whispered "Stay close." 

Chat could hear the nervousness in her voice. They had never faced an opponent like this before. They didn’t know what to expect and unlike all other times they were surrounded.

"Always." Chat whispered back eliciting a slight blush from his Lady. 

They picked a random path doing their best to avoid touching the larger vines that hung and draped across random parts of the street. They had found by accident when Ladybug had brushed one oversized vine the thing had begun to move sending out tendrils toward where her position was. Chat had yanked her out of the tendrils path and they had moved as far as they could from the vine ducking under a bus until it had settled back into place. They had been walking for a while in silence when Ladybug finally spoke up. "I don’t know if we are making any progress or not Chat. Maybe we should try for higher ground and see what we find?" 

"What a pur-fact suggestion." Chat answered unable to resist 

Ladybug rolled her eyes and started looking for a good wall to scale that wasn’t covered in vines when Chat grabbed her arm and slung it around his shoulders. In one swift movement he pulled her close and elongated his staff sending them skyward. Once they were above rooftop level he sat her on his knee clinging to his staff with his feet and one hand. 

"Didn’t we talk about this once before?" Ladybug asked ignoring her fluttering heart. 

Chat grinned at her and winked "Yes but…what?" he asked seeing the strange look cross her features. She pointed and following her finger swallowed hard at what he saw. 

It was obvious where the akumasized person was at this point. A large tree like structure was growing near the Eiffel tower and was rapidly taking over the city. Pods hung from all the branches and Chat bet that each pod probably held a captive human. 

"Well at least we know where we are going now. Man that’s one heck of a garden." Chat said his voice awed by what he saw. 

"Yeah but how are we supposed to fight that?" Ladybug asked feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer size of the problem before them. 

To her surprise Chat pressed his face to her neck in a nuzzle pulling her tight against him. "Chat!" she squeaked unable to pull away due to the precarious position they were in. 

"You will think of something My Lady. For now lets just get a closer look." Chan said his voice slightly muffled. 

"F-fine." Ladybug stuttered "But first put me down." 

Chat huffed containing his laughter and leaned forward so they fell towards one of the roofs that were mercifully free of vines. They hit the roof running finally having a decent target to aim for even if it was a massive tree somewhere off in the distance. Even up on the rooftops they had to avoid vines and several times they had to go out of their way even crossing back down to street level to get through certain areas. At one point they wondered if they could simply cut through the vines but since they didn’t want to alert Marigold to their presence they didn’t want to chance it. They had just made it to the end of the rooftops before the large tree when both of their miraculous beeped signifying they didn’t have a lot of time left. They glanced at each other nervously neither one wanting to have to de-transform in such a hostile environment. They had been at this for quite a while, usually these battles were faster and easier.

"Do you have enough for cataclysm?" Ladybug asked and Chat nodded "Yeah what about Lucky Charm?" 

Instinctively she brushed her fingers across her earrings then nodded. "I should. If something goes wrong though we book it to the river agreed?" 

Chat sighed not liking the idea of another dip but nodded anyways to make her feel better. "Is there any other place we could run to?" he asked simply because she didn’t look as if she wanted another dip in the river either. After all the sun was starting to go down and the river wasn’t the cleanest water around.

Nibbling on a lip Ladybug shrugged "I really don’t know. Hopefully we can wrap this up and it wont be an issue. By the way does that look like a person sleeping to you?" she asked and he realized that as he had been staring at her she had been eyeing the tree and field before them trying to find the akumasized person. Berating himself and following the petite finger he soon spotted what appeared to be a small human form curled into a ball near the roots of the tree. 

"Huh. I half expected them to be underground." Chat commented 

"What? Why?" Ladybug asked curiously. 

Chat shrugged as they made their way down off the roof careful not to disturb the greenery around them. "I don’t know the whole plant thing just made me think underground." 

There was no real cover once they got away from the buildings and nervously they moved forward feeling as though they were walking quite helplessly into a trap. Passing into the shade of the giant tree they approached the sleeping child on nearly silent feet. The little girl looked completely normal to both of them and Ladybug gripped her yoyo tight, a feeling of apprehension nearly swallowing her whole. Something wasn’t right. They were in the right place she knew. She could practically feel the akuma slinking around but the person before them didn’t seem right almost as if… 

"It’s a decoy!" She hissed a moment too late as Chat reached out to the child. 

Chat was within a foot of them the child dissolved turning into a mass of writhing vines that had thorn like projections for teeth. Chat cried out as two of them managed to land solid blows their thorny fangs sinking into the soft flesh of his arm. 

"Chat!" Ladybug choked out spinning her yoyo slicing the vines as she simultaneously pulled him up and back.   
Vines sprang from the earth around them turning the once grassy open space into a living writhing mass of green. 

"Use your charm! I'll keep them busy!" Chat yelled careful to keep his bitten arm out of sight. He didn’t give her a chance to reply charging straight at the main root invoking "Cataclysm!" as he threw himself forward. He had never used his power on something so massive before and so far he had never used it on anything living either. He didn’t know what would happen, all he could think about was giving Ladybug enough time to invoke her own special power. 

Ladybug could only watch in horror as the appearance of the child dissolved into mass of vines that attacked her partner, biting into him and making him cry out. She had cut him free but then instead of running like they had agreed the fool had charged for the trunk invoking his secret power cataclysm. Ladybug knew what she had to do and she refused to allow his distraction to go to waste. Dodging a vine that sliced her way she cried "Lucky charm!" sending her yoyo high into the air. There was a brief flash of light and a small square piece of paper floated from the sky to land in her hands. 

"A picture?! What in the world…" she didn’t get to finish her sentence for in the next instance a loud shriek forced her to cover her ears. 

Instantly she saw the reason why. Chats Cataclysm had scored a direct hit on a main root of the tree and it was quite clearly dying. Vines sprang from the tree smashing him away from the roots and Ladybug sprinted forward catching him with her body before they slammed into the hard ground.   
Ladybug pulled herself out from under him swallowing hard as she realized the bite marks from the vines were turning green under his torn suit. Chat groaned as her movement forced him to roll forward but she could tell he was still conscious though barely and he stared up at her dazed. 

"Run Ladybug." He managed seeming to come more to his senses as she slashed at some vines that were coming far to close. Wincing he tried to sit up. "I'll keep it distracted." 

He didn’t say it but she knew what he meant. 'Run save yourself. This thing is too big for us to fight.' 

For a moment the world seemed to disappear from around her and tears welled into her eyes. He was hurt. Really hurt and he was going to sacrifice himself so that she could get away. She didn’t know what she looked like as he gazed up at her but it must have been one heck of a sight because he reached for her an incredibly worried look on his face. Her hand moved on its and the world slammed back into focus as it connected sharply with his cheek. Chat jerked back shocked but Ladybug grabbed his arms swinging him like a child up onto her back. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she dodged a volley of vines sprinting away from the great dying tree. 

"I will not run away and I will never leave you behind! Never ask that of me again!" She practically screamed at him as he wrapped his good arm around her clinging with his legs as she sprinted towards the buildings.   
If he answered her it was lost in a second earsplitting wail echoing once more up from underground. Ladybug used her yoyo and every trick she knew to get away over the rooftops and she didn’t stop running even when the vines stopped chasing them momentarily. The only thing that cut through her single minded idea of FLEE was when her miraculous beeped signifying her transformation was going to wear off very soon. At the very next rooftop balcony Ladybug practically collapsed dropping to her knees and allowing Chat to finally let go of her. He flopped back with a groan and Ladybug twisted around helping him to sit slightly more comfortably against the rough brick. 

"Chat…oh Chat I'm so sorry…" she murmured still gasping for air as she reached towards his injured arm. 

"Not to worry My Lady. I deserved that slap. I never should have asked that of you." Chat answered and Ladybug felt that same feeling of hopelessness hit her causing her eyes to tear up again.

Both of their miraculous beeped again and she could see on his ring that he only had the single piece of pad and one toe left. Her hands brushed his shoulder ready to tear the sleeve to get a better look at the injury but he stopped her from touching his arm instead curling the injured limb around his chest. 

"There isn't anything you can do Ladybug." He said softly and she sat back surprised at his reluctance.

"What are we…" she started only to be cut off by a furious voice. 

"How dare the nasty little kitty hurt mommys Tree!!!! Now I'm going to find you little kitty and take your miraculous!" it screamed and the two of them winced, instinctively moving towards each other. 

"Did you use Lucky Charm?" Chat asked and Ladybug nodded pulling the red and black spotted paper from her compact. Flipping it over the two of them eyed the photo which was of a little girl about 6 years old and her mother. The two of them were smiling joyfully waving at the camera gardening trowels in hand. 

"Ok so we know the kids name is Mary at least." He said head falling against the bricks as he let out a sigh. 

"Huh?" Ladybug asked and he gently tapped a claw to the photo where she could make out a name tag pinned to the child's shirt front. 

"Ok but that still doesn’t tell us how to defeat this Marigold." She whispered as their miraculous beeped again. 

"Ladybug." Chat whispered catching her attention immediately the seriousness of his tone not lost on her. "Listen to me and please don’t slap me again. You need to leave me here." 

"No." Ladybug snapped. "I don’t care if you see who I am. I am not leaving you here alone." 

Chat grinned up at her weakly "I'm sorry My Lady but you may not have much of a choice. Once my transformation wears off the venom from those plants will take over and I'll be cocooned like those other folk we found on the street." 

Ladybug froze the horror of what he had just explained hitting her at once. "I…I cant do this without you. Please Chat…" she begged her eyes welling with tears again. 

She felt useless, helpless, and what was worse there was nothing she could do except watch time run out. 

"You wont be alone. Plagg will help you." In the next moment he pulled his ring off reverting to his civilian form. Adrien sat before her and Ladybug felt her jaw come unhinged falling open, her heart breaking in two at the level of trust he had just displayed. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, and without another word he placed his miraculous ring into her palm forcing her fingers to curl around it. That motion brought her back a little and she managed to splutter "A-Adrien?!" 

He eyed her strangely a very Chat like grin flitting across his face even as he flinched in pain. "So you do know me. I don’t know who you are but I know you can do this. Take care of her for me Plagg." 

A small black kitten kwami floated out to hover before him. "I will. We will come back for you." 

"I know you will. I'll be waiting paw-tiently." Adrien managed his gaze moving to focus on her.

Ladybug swallowed hard barely registering the terrible pun. Her gaze was fixed on his arm, his now green arm to be exact. As she watched green tendrils sprang from it slowly starting to spread up his arm moving away from the bite wounds. The sight was making her feel distinctly ill and she tore her gaze away from it forcing herself to look directly into Adrien's eyes. He slumped against the wall his eyes half open as he tried to fight what was happening. Finally voice cracking she managed to speak "I will fix this and I will come back for you. So hold on because… because I love you." 

His eyes flew wide open and he gaped at her even as the tendrils swept across his chest. Gently she pressed her lips to his and pulled back as the vines made their way across his neck. His eyes fluttered and he grinned at her "Best goodnight kiss ever…" he managed before slumping back unconscious. 

Marinette wasn’t anywhere near ready to leave him but she pulled back not wanting to get entangled in the vines as they finished cocooning him and began secreting a gel that she assumed would become the strange membranous layer she had seen and felt on the earlier pod. A moment later her own miraculous gave a final warning beep then her transformation undid itself leaving her feeling very vulnerable and alone on a random rooftop.


	3. Chapter 3

As the flash of light dissipated Marinette held out her hands instinctively allowing both kwami to flop tiredly into her cupped palms. 

"You should put my ring on so it can't get lost or stolen." Plagg said when she didn’t move for several minutes.

"I-I don’t know what to do." Marinette whispered feeling as if she weren't quite connected to her body. 

"Put on my ring and find a place to hide." Plagg answered and Marinette focused her eyes on the tiny kitten in her palms. 

"I think she is in shock Plagg. She really likes that boy Adrien and to find out that not only is he Chat but that she has to leave him…" Tiki trailed off looking up at Marinette whose gaze had locked back on the newly forming pod. 

"She had better come out of it soon because we don’t have a ton of time." Plagg replied causing Marinette to blink and shake her head roughly. 

"S-sorry..." Marinette whispered her fogged over mind starting to clear a little. Plagg grinned weakly up at her and opened his mouth when a voice interrupted whatever the kwami was going to say next. 

"Hereeee kitty, kitty, kitty…." The voice of a 6 year old girl sang spookily. "Comeee ouuut kitty, kitty, kitty." 

Hearing the voice sent a shiver of fear through her and in the late afternoon sun Marinette could make out several vines sweeping over the rooftops nearby. She didn’t know where it came from but a memory of Chat, a grin firmly in place, leaping in front of her to take a blow meant for her crossed her minds eye and deep within her a spark of stubbornness answered the shiver of fear. 

"No. I will not give up. Not here, not now." Marinette said and slowly, shakily, she stood. "You guys can both fit in my purse so I can run right?" Both Kwami flew up from her palm and nodded before diving into the small bag. 

Looking around the rooftop Marinette slid Adriens ring onto her finger as she fixed her position firmly in her mind so she could return later. Slowly she closed her eyes as she struggled to come up with an idea of what to do next the ring weighing heavily on her finger. 

"For something so small it feels incredibly heavy." Marinette whispered twisting the band. 

"That’s because you carry his heart." Plagg said from the purse.   
Instead of intimidating her Plaggs words warmed her and in the next second Plagg asked "Do you have any cheese?" ruining the moment. 

Marinette managed a weak chuckle. "We will have to find you some as soon as I get us somewhere safe."

"Oh Kiiiittttyyyy…." The little girls voice warbled again but this time instead of making Marinette flinch in fear it simply annoyed her. 

Picking out a path along the closest rooftop Marinette darted forward leaping across the gap between the buildings. She was in civilian clothes and unfortunetly she didn’t have the strength to clear massive gaps however she had run these rooftops enough that she knew where she could run as and still manage well enough. The streets down below were not safe at all as vines actively trailed the streets searching for anything moving. Marinette didn’t know if it was the sound of her landing or the movement but as soon as she landed Tiki pipped up.

"Uh I think they know we are here." Tiki noted as the vines swung towards them as if sensing her movement. 

"Wonderful." Marinette panted and put on a burst of speed so she could clear a larger gap as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. 

She had been awake since the early morning and had so far spent most of her afternoon fighting, dodging, and getting slammed by psycho vines. Marinette was in great shape from being Ladybug but even her body had its limits and she was getting tired. As she cut across a rooftop a vine surprised her cutting off her initial path. Ducking sideways her feet almost sliding out from under her she cut away from its sweeping arc and sprinted forward to the edge of the roof where she jumped crossing a span that she could usually clear with ease. Her exhaustion betrayed her however and she nearly fell short the tips of her toes just making the edge so she tipped forward rolling across a small soon to be vegetable bed. The fresh dirt made for a soft landing and with only a few small bruises to show for the near miss she stumbled back to her feet covered in dirt. Swiftly making her way to the edge of the bed Plagg flew up from the purse taking in her disheveled appearance. 

"Kid you’ve got to find a place to hide. You can't run from those vine things forever."

Marinette nodded tiredly as she kept an eye on the vines as they swept the rooftops for her. Jumping across the gaps seemed to confuse them in their search for her at least. "I've got to get off the roofs. I'm getting too tired to keep leaping about like this, I'm going to end up missing one of these times." 

Tiki darted up from her purse and pointed at a small alcove on the other side of the roof. "That looks like an entrance!" she said catching Marinette attention. She made it all of two steps towards the door however before a vine slid across it slinging out tendrils that searched the small space. Finding nothing the vines headed in her direction and Marinette turned running the opposite way hissing "No time." 

She was swiftly running out of roof with nowhere to jump to next. Just as she was starting to feel cornered she spied a length of cord off to the one side that was probably used for washing. Thanking her luck Marinette ran forward scooping it up and coming to the end of the roof she swiftly tied it to a bar that jutted up from the roofs edge. She tossed the rest of it over the side peering down to see some planters about three quarters of the way down. Seeming to sense what she was about to do Tiki flew down and tugged on the cord herself asking "Will that hold you Marinette?" 

Marinette shrugged "I guess I'll find out." She answered dropping over the side of the building as the vines started sweeping the part of the rooftop she had just been on.

The cord held her weight just barely and she swung wildly as she ducked some dangling tendrils while trying to lower herself to the street. The cord bit into her hands painfully and the slight twang sound was all the warning she had before the cord snapped. Being Ladybug had had given her many new skills and swinging from rooftop to rooftop using nothing but a yoyo had greatly sharpened her reaction time. Plummeting towards the ground Marinette flailed wildly refusing to scream. As she fell Marinette twisted feet first instinctively as she frantically tried to snag the wall. A moment later her hand caught the wrought iron decoration of one of the window box she had seen from the roof top. She held on for dear life praying the box would support her weight as her body jolted to a painful stop, her shoulder and arm protesting the motions she was putting it through. Ignoring the pain she grabbed the box with her other hand and slowly started to heave herself up so she could peer into the window. Her luck held with the window box and as a bonus the window was already half way open. To her amusement both Tiki and Plagg were gripping the shoulders of her jacket doing their best to try and help her as she scrambled in through the window. She slithered through the gap falling to the floor in a heap and decided to stay there. 

"Marinette the window!" Tiki cried waving too catch her attention. Recognizing the danger of the vines possibly following her in she lunged forward slamming the window shut then collapsed to the floor a frantic giggle slipping from her lips. 

"Marinette?" The two Kwami queried concerned for the young girl. 

A lump seemed to form in her throat and Marinette found she couldn’t answer. Her vision blurred as she stared out the window and to her surprise she could feel a tear leak from one of her eyes. A wave of pity, fear, and countless other emotions rolled through her. 

"I need to keep moving." Marinette whispered to herself turning on her knees to face the concerned Kwami. They hovered in the air watching her, their expressions unreadable. Sniffing Marinette swiped a stray tear from her cheek and once more climbed to her feet. 

"Lets get you guys something to eat and we can figure out to do from there." She said her voice soft. "Cheese Please!" Plagg cried making a brief smile flicker on her lips.

They were in someone's apartment and from the look of things they hadn't been home when the akumas attack had started. After checking that the windows and doors were secure Marinette moved into the kitchen and found the Kwami and herself something to eat. She felt a little bad stealing this random persons food but she knew that she didn’t have much of a choice. 

As they ate Marinette started to make a plan. "This place seems safe enough so I think we should stay here until its dark out and regain some of the energy we will need to fight. Plants don’t move around much at night so if this Marigold holds true to that we will be able to sneak up on her then. Adri.." her voice broke for a second and she cleared her throat before continuing. "Chat was right I think when he said she is underground so we can probably find her either in the metro or the catacombs."

"There won't be a ton of room for you to maneuver around down there." Tiki warned and Marinette nodded. 

"I will have to find a flashlight or something to use so I can see too." Marinette said already thinking of stuff she would have to collect. 

Plagg snorted "You won't need a flash light. You will have night vision because you will be using me."

Marinette blinked not thinking she heard him properly. "Using you? I can do that?" 

Plagg nodded swallowing a large chunk of cheese whole. "Adrien gave me to you willingly and I want to help you so you will have access to all of Chat Noirs powers. You can use them in conjunction with Ladybugs normal powers too. Just say Claws Out to give me a heads up as to when you decide to go for it." 

Swallowing the bit of fruit she had in her mouth Marinette asked "I can give you back to Adrien when this is all over right? Using you power won't mess up your connection with him?" 

Plagg shook his little head "Nothing can mess up our connection. Besides you're already a part of our connection. How do you think he always finds you so darn fast?" 

Marinette chuckled dryly and stood once more. "If we are going to do this we need to get some sleep. Do you guys mind taking watches?" 

"You go to sleep Marinette we will keep watch and wake you once its fully dark." Tiki answered and Marinette managed a small smile before wandering over to a small couch and collapsing into it. She was unconscious almost instantly. 

Something nudged her in the darkness whispering. Marinette groaned and tried to roll away from the nudging only to meet empty space then suddenly the floor.   
"Gah!" Marinette cried as she hit the ground coming awake instantly. 

"Marinette! Are you ok?" Tiki cried her little body producing enough of a glow that she could see her hovering less than a foot above her. 

"Tiki?" Marinette asked confused as she sat up. It was pitch black in the room and Marinette could only just make out the generalized shapes that were furniture. As more shadows came into focus in the dark room, a small pair of green eyes shined out of the darkness making the air catch in the back of her throat. 

"Boo!" Plagg cried and dodged Marinettes hand chuckling as she swiped at him in fear.

"Plagg!" Tiki scolded and the events of the day came swarming back to Marinette. 

"It… It wasn’t a dream then." Marinette whispered to herself pressing her lips to the metal band that encircled her finger. 

"Sorry Ladybug but we haven't escaped this nightmare quite yet." Plagg said quietly. "However, if you want to go after this Marigold now is probably the best time."

"Lets get to it." Marinette answered climbing to her feet. 

She was no longer exhausted though her shoulder and some other parts of her were very sore or stiff from the skirmishes, It didn’t help that she had slept in a single fairly uncomfortable position for such a long time either. Seeing Marinette on her feet, Tiki led the way with her glow as Plagg followed close behind. They whispered to Marinette where to step as they made their way out of the apartment and to the main stairs since she couldn’t see in the dark like they could. 

"How long was I asleep for?" Marinette asked as she began to feel her way up the stairs. 

"About 8 hours." Tiki answered causing Marinette to stumble. 

"Eight?!" Marinette cried "Why did you let me sleep that long?!" 

"Besides the fact that you needed the rest?" Plagg quipped dryly 

"This akuma has been on the loose since lunch… yesterday now! It's never taken us this long to wrap up a capture before!" Marinette hissed worried for the people of Paris especially those that had been cocooned. 

"Its not like you could help it, besides the vines really only stopped fully moving about two hours ago. Plus your body and mind needed to recover from the shocks it had received, also now's the best time to move about if you’re a creature of the night." Plagg grumbled 

"Yeah well I'm not really a creature of the night either!" Marinette whisper screamed in his direction since she couldn’t actually see where he was. 

"You will be once you go through that door." Plagg retorted and received a scolding hiss from Tiki as they arrived at the rooftop exit. 

"We are with you all the way Marinette." Tiki whispered to her placing a gentle kiss on her nose. 

"Trust your gut. You will be ok." Plagg said his green eyes hovering creepily out of place in the darkness. 

"Ok…ok…I can do this." Marinette whispered to herself the very air around her changing as she focused. "Tiki, Plagg, Spots On and Claws Out!" 

Closing her eyes as the transformation swept over her Marinette noted that it felt very different from normal. As the light of the transformation died she shifted trying to place what felt so strange. For one thing she felt stronger, her soreness disappearing for the moment. 

"You can use all our powers and you have our combined strength too." Tikis voice whispered to her in her mind. 

Warmth surged through her giving her the courage to open her eyes and nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw the person standing off to the side of her. She twisted towards them hands coming up only to realize that it was her reflection in a mirror. 

"Who the heck puts a mirror on a rooftop exit?" she muttered feeling slightly embarrassed by her knee jerk reaction.

Having night vision was really cool though and curious she took a step closer while eyeing the changes to her costume. Ears adorned her hair and a petite bell hung around her neck. Her gloves ended in claws and she could feel the difference in traction of her clawed shoes. She couldn’t really make out colors very well even with the night vision but she could tell her normal spots mostly covered her body except where they swirled to what she assumed was solid black at her hands, feet, neck, and belt. Reaching behind at the small of her back she discovered Chats Baton and a tail to her amusement. Her yoyo hung in its normal position at her side. 

"I'm so glad plants don’t use cameras." Marinette muttered thinking of how Alya would be having a field day if she could see her like this. 

Turning away from her reflection she slowly cracked the door to the roof open, alert for any incoming attacks or stagnant vines. Seeing neither she slid out the door on silent feet and started her run over the rooftops towards what she hoped would be the final battle between her and Marigold.


	4. Chapter 4

It took almost another hour of careful progress to make her way back to the tree where she and Chat figured Marigolds main body was. The tree was still slowly repairing itself and Ladycat marveled at how powerful cataclysm really was. Knowing what she needed to do Ladycat made her way over to the nearby metro station and moved headlong into the darkness. 

Once the darkness of the tunnel really enveloped her Ladycat found that even with the night vision she could hardly see. She traveled past the cocooned ticket stands and jumped the gates before moving further down into the metro as she searched for her quarry. Time was lost to the darkness and it was only Plagg and Tikis voice whispering in her mind that kept her from totally freaking out. Cocoons were everywhere down here and they gave off an eerie light that allowed her to just barely make out the people within. It made her feel as if she was being constantly watched and it set her nerves horribly on edge. By the time she was used to the strange glow she began to notice the overwhelming quiet the tunnels had. The silence made her anticipation that much worst because Ladycat was used to these places being loud and bustling filled with people going about their day.

"Marinette it's ok these people won't have any negative effects from being cocooned. Once you release Lucky charm everything will go back to normal." Tiki whispered her words giving Ladycat strength.

"Yeah but can we hurry? Co-transforming is taking way more energy than I thought it would." Plagg complained as Ladycat hid a smile and Tiki told him to quit whining.

Eventually a different light source began to filter in from somewhere and as she moved forward Ladycat began to have to watch where she placed her feet. Vines crisscrossed the floor and when she turned the corner Ladycat froze awed by the sight before her. A single clear teardrop shaped bulb glowed in the darkness. The roots all sprang from the top of the bulb driving into the roof and covering almost all other available space. The little girl hung in the center of the clear bulb curled in on herself looking very similar to an orange and yellow pompom. Green accented gloves and boots and she was clutching what looked like a single black daisy flower. Ladycat didn’t know how but she could just tell that the akuma was in that flower. Target acquired she moved forward ready to sling her yoyo the moment she came into range. Suddenly at the worst possible time the miraculous on her finger beeped signifying its count down. 

"Oops" Plagg whispered in her mind as Marigolds eyes snapped open and her body twisted towards her. 

"Bad kitty!" she shrieked and the walls seemed to come to life. 

"Dammit!" Ladycat hissed and tried to dodge while getting ever closer the girls body. Spinning her yoyo she wielded it like a weed-whacker slashing through plants, roots, and anything else that got in her way. She made little headway though, for every two steps she took forward she had to leap one back to avoid some blow. After a minute of little to no progress she managed to lookup to find little Marigold watching her strangely. 

"Your name is Mary right?!" She shouted her voice echoing in the open space. 

Marigold flinched before yelling "My name is Marigold!" 

Throwing herself sideways spiked vines swiftly following Ladycat yelled back "No its not. Your mom named you Mary not Marigold!" 

The vines froze inches from her body and Ladycat gingerly slid backwards before picking herself up off the ground, watching the child the entire time. "Mary, you need to calm down. I-I don’t know what happened to make you do this b-but you need to stop." She managed panting for air. 

Marigolds face scrunched "Those mean boys broke my mommies flower. I was bringing it to her in the hospital to help her feel better and they BROKE IT!" her last few words came out as a scream and the vines around Ladycat twisted some of them growing wicked looking thorns. Ladycat tensed but they didn’t attack…yet. 

"Those boys ought to get a spanking but why did you attack all of Paris?" Ladycat asked and the little girl looked up at her blankly. 

"The butterfly man said he would help me make a garden so my mommy could see it from her window. That’s why I was growing the tree, but then the bad kitty poisoned my tree." Her eyes flashed suddenly and Ladycat could see the purple moth like mask surround her face. 

"Mary don’t listen to the butterfly man! He's a bad guy and he is using you!" Ladycat cried taking several steps towards her in desperation. 

"Bad kitty!" she screamed and Ladycat knew she had lost her again.

The ground around her shook and slew of roots that plummeted from the roof acting as if they were going to skewer her. Part of the roof dropped with them and she sprinted forward dodging debris as it rained down. Her plan was shot and as the earth above her groaned Ladycat knew she had to get out of this hole if she wanted to survive this battle. Realizing she was going to have to retreat again Ladycat cursed twisting over a hammer shaped root that tried to squash her. Drawing Chats staff from the small of her back she elongated it sending her soaring straight up towards where she could just make out the faintest bit of moonlight. About halfway up the vines blind sighted her ripping the staff from her hands and sent her smashing into the ground. Rolling swiftly the side to avoid another thorny attack she fetched up against the bulb like pod that Mary was in. 

"Hello Kitty." Marigold said and Ladycat bounced to all fours resisting the urge to hiss at her as her hair torn loose from its normal pigtails literally stood on end. 

Vines slithered like snakes towards her and Ladycat jumped at the pod sinking her claws into the membranous surface as she desperately started to climb. A crazy plan clicked into place and she desperately hoped she had the energy to do it. If she could use cataclysm on base of the root system she hoped that it might curb Marigolds power enough that she could get the akumasized flower away from her. Seeing the vines rapidly closing in on her position Ladycat launched herself at the root base crying "Cat…" only to be cut off with a scream. Thorny vines slashed into her legs halting her mid air. Her upper body slammed back into the bulbs surface her momentum instantly halted and she flipped over slashing the vines with her claws. They loosened for a second and even as she tried to twist out of their grip more swarmed to join them biting into her as they pinned her legs and one arm to her side. Thorns dug deep into her flesh and Ladycat cried out again feeling the venom hit her system. With a shudder that caused the thorns to dig deeper Ladycat realized that her time was now extraordinarily limited. The thorns hurt and as the vines squeezed tighter desperation filled her.

"Stop please!" Ladycat wailed and the thorns all at once withdrew back into the vines as she was suddenly shoved forward into the bulb. 

Marigold hovered before her a small frown on her tiny face. She reached forward and Ladycat flinched back as she pressed a small hand to her cheek. "You're crying." She stated 

"It hurts." Ladycat answered and even though her one arm was free and the stupid akumasized flower was within reach she found that she simply didn’t have the strength to take it from her. 

Marigolds hand dropped to her side and to Ladycats shock tears filled her tiny eyes "I didn’t want to hurt you but Marigolds are known for misery."

Ladycat realized that the girl was talking about the meaning of flowers and a swell of pity surged through her. "They are also known for passion and creativity." She countered 

Marigold looked her in the eyes as Hawkmoths mask showed up around her face once more. "The butterfly man wants this mir…mirac…" 

"The miraculous." Ladycat whispered helping her out and Marigold nodded. 

Ladycat didn’t know what to say, what to do. She could feel that they were at a cross roads, that things were about to tip past the point of no return. Usually she would use her Lucky Charm when she felt like this but with one arm pinned she didn’t know what to do. Suddenly as if simply thinking the words invoked it the world grayed out. Marigold flashed polka dotted, then her own hand and with a sudden clarity she remembered the photograph. 

"Mary, is this what you want?" Ladycat asked her voice soft. 

To her surprise Marigold shook her head. "I want my mommy." She whimpered even as the mask reappeared again brighter this time and the vines tightened around   
Ladycat making her gasp in pain. "The butterfly man is yelling at me." 

Ignoring the pain Ladycat moved slowly, pulling the photo free of her pinned glove and with her free hand held it out to her. "I will bring you to her if you want." 

Abandoning the black daisy for the photo Marigold clutched the photo tight tears spilling down her tiny cheeks and the vines around Ladycat slowly unraveled letting her float freely in the bulb. "I just wanted to grow my mommy a garden." She said looking up at Ladycat the fear and sorrow evident in her eyes

Ladycat held out her arms. "Its ok sweet heart, come here and I will help you fix things." 

Hawkmoths mask flickered around Marigolds face and she glanced back at the black daisy that hung in arms reach. Forsaking the black daisy completely Marigold rushed into Ladycats arms with a sob and she barely withheld a groan of pain as she realized at least one rib was more than bruised.   
As soon as the child made contact with her Ladycat realized she could hear Hawkmoths voice in the same eerie way she could hear the kwamis. 

"NO you stupid ignorant child get me the miraculous!!!!" he screamed 

"How dare you yell at a child you nasty man! Pick on someone your own size!" Ladycat yelled back and there was a stunned moment of silence. 

"You can hear me." He whispered and Ladycat shivered at the tone of longing she could detect in his voice.

"Yes, this girl is no longer your pawn and if you dare send another akuma to attack a child again I swear I will hunt you down and tear you to shreds. You have lost." Ladycat hissed her voice laced with venom. 

Chats miraculous beeped a final warning so in the next instant she lunged forward and snatched the blackened Daisy. "NO!" Hawkmoth roared uselessly and without a second thought Ladycat cried "Cataclysm!" turning the plant to ash. Energy spent Chats side of the transformation came undone instantly reverting her back to plain old Ladybug. 

Marigolds transformation came undone as well and she turned in her arms as Ladybug opened her hand allowing the black butterfly to wiggle out of a tiny daisy sprout in her palm. 

"My plant!" Mary cried snatching the sprout from her palm and Ladybug let her for she had something far more important to take care of.  
As their feet touched down to the earth Ladybug slung her yoyo at the akuma catching and purifying it at once. 

"Can I see?" Mary asked back to a normal curious 6 year old as she tried to look at Ladybugs yoyo.

With a smile Ladybug lowered it to her eye level then pressed it in the center allowing the purified butterfly to escape. "Bye bye little butterfly!" Mary giggled then yawned hugely reaching up her free hand to swipe at her eyes. "I need to plant my sprout." She said and wandered forward to where a small backpack and a pot that said 4 Mommy in bright letters on it lay. 

Once Mary was preoccupied Ladybug sat down, hard. "I didn’t even notice those were there." She whispered then jumped as Plagg said softly. "Well you were a little distracted by the swarming vines of doom. Your pretty beat up too. Shouldn’t you release Lucky Charm so everything can go back to normal?" 

"I cant yet. I promised Mary I would take her to her mom in the hospital and besides… I don’t want Chat to wake up alone." She whispered even as Tiki asked her the same thing Plagg did.

Plagg blinked slowly then sighed. "You kids are purr-factly ridiculous sometimes." He huffed before settling on top of her head 

Ladybug rolled her eyes "Now I know where Chat gets it." She muttered and took stock of her injuries. The thorns had pierced her body all over although most of them were small punctures and had already stopped bleeding causing her red suit to be slightly darker in multiple areas. Cuts littered her costume while countless bruises were making themselves known. Her ribs hurt the worst and she was pretty sure that at least one of them was broken but all and all she knew that once she released Lucky Charm her injuries would heal. Knowing that made it a little easier to bear the pain as she got to her feet before walking over to where Mary had just finished repotting her sprout. 

"Its time to go Mary." Ladybug said holding out a hand. 

"Ok Ladybug. I like your hair down its pretty!" Mary answered and holding on tight to her little pot in one hand she placed her other hand in Ladybugs. 

Now that there were no murderous vines avoid it didn’t take as long as Ladybug feared it would for her to bring Mary to the hospital where her mother was. Less than halfway there Mary had practically been asleep on her feet and Ladybug had picked her up ignoring the flare of rib pain to carry her the rest of the way.   
When she walked in through the doors to the hospital though, all hell had broken loose. It was quite a sight even for the people used to akuma fights to witness Ladybug waltz through the front doors bloody, disheveled, and carrying a child. She was bombarded with questions and doctors swarmed her because it was painfully obvious that she was injured. She had refused medical treatment, refused to sit down, and flat out refused to hand the sleeping Mary over. After arguing with a man in charge she was finally brought to Marys mothers room where her husband sat as well. They were overjoyed to have their daughter back and they thanked her profusely for saving their daughter even though she didn’t tell them that she had been the cause of the akuma attack. Ladybug had grinned at the loving family even as her miraculous beeped letting her know that time was once again running out. After reclaiming the Lucky Charm photo she left via window not wanting to get caught up in the crowd that was swiftly forming outside the door. Plagg joined her as she hit the rooftops running, happy to note that the rooftop she had left Adrien at was far closer to the hospital than she had realized. 

"You really need to rest Marinette." Tiki whispered in her mind as she slid on a loose shingle and stumbled almost crashing head first into a wall. 

"I will we are almost there." Ladybug answered her voice coming in a pained gasp as she bounced over the wall her ribs sending a flare of pain for her troubles. 

"Tiki stop distracting her." Plagg moaned. Since Ladybug needed her hands free to use her yoyo he was clinging desperately to her hair as she ran. 

"I am so going to make him eat those words." Tiki grumbled making Ladybug giggle helplessly her pounding footsteps echoing the beats of her heart. She made it with a dot to spare skidding to a halt before Adriens cocoon. For a moment she could only gasp for air eyeing the sky as it slowly started to change colors with the rising dawn. 

"Miraculous Cleanse!" she shouted her voice haggard as she tossed the photo up into the air where it burst like fireworks. A branch swarmed around her healing her before swarming around Adrien leaving him plant less and whole against the wall. A moment later he opened his eyes blinking and shaking his head.

He spotted her in an instant. "I knew you could do it My Lady." He said a very Chat like grin lighting up his face.   
Ladybug trembled at his words a surge of warmth momentarily replacing the exhaustion. She wanted to move forward, wanted to speak but as the exhaustion swept back over her it was all she could do to stay standing. 

"Marinette you've overreached yourself!" Tiki cried in her mind as Plagg plastered himself to the side of Adrien face whispering rapidly in his ear. Adrien's head jerked up sharply and seeming to truly take in her appearance he scrambled to his feet looking very concerned in the ever brightening morning. He took a step forward one hand reaching towards her and Ladybug smiled.

Her whole body felt ridiculously heavy and her eyes started to close "You're ok." Ladybug managed finally a small smile flitting across her lips. Then as her transformation wore off in a flash of pink light she pitched forward in a dead feint.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cutesy fluffy feelings for everyone!

The first thing Marinette noticed was that she was warm and then she realized she was not in her room. She sat up suddenly sending Tiki flying with a surprised squeak. Recovering midair the kwami floated back over to her crying "Marinette your awake!"

A small crash echoed off to her right and suddenly Adrien appeared skidding to a stop in his socks. With no warning he rushed to her side and threw his arms around her pulling her tight against him. "You're awake! Thank goodness you're awake! I was so worried but Tiki said all you needed was sleep so I brought you here and you’ve been asleep for hours but I-I…" he trailed off and Marinette thought her heart would burst. Adrien was hugging her. He was hugging her! Instantly she felt herself go beet red and for a moment she thought she would combust. Something moved squeaking between them and Adrien pulled back allowing a slightly squished Tiki to get free. He blinked taking in Marinettes bright red features and blushed himself letting her go instantly. 

"S-sorry" he stuttered pulling back even further. 

Marinette knew she should say something, anything, but in all honesty words had forsaken her. Instead in a bold move of her own she reached up grabbed Adriens shirt front and pulled him to her pressing her lips to his. His arms went around her again one hand trailing up to grip the back of her neck and he tilted his head deepening the kiss. After a moment they parted and gazing into each other's eyes they both spoke at the same time. "Don’t you ever do that to me again!"   
They both blinked in surprise then as matching grins spread over their faces they started to laugh clinging to each other as they did. It took them a while but once they finally calmed down the questions began and Marinette asked hers first. "How long have I been out and how did we get here? Did everything go back to normal? Where is here? Where is my stuff?" 

Adrien lifted her bag from the floor and handed it to her as he answered. "About 6 hours and I carried you here. We are at a small apartment complex my father owns. I didn’t want to show up at your or my house with you unconscious in my arms so I came here. It was closer anyways. Things are basically back to normal but you're going to be even more popular now My Lady. Or should it be princess?" he asked cocking his head questioningly at her. 

Marinette blushed "Save the My Lady stuff for Ladybug kitty." She answered and Adrien grinned "Princess it is then!" He crowed 

Then what he said first sank in and Marinette frowned. "Why am I going to be more popular now?" she asked and Adrien gave her a slightly chagrinned look. "Uh I think those cocoons were how Marigold could see the world outside the bulb she was hiding in. Basically everyone who was in the cocoons saw your entire battle underground and saw how you comforted her. You were incredible." He breathed giving her an awed look as he brushed some stray hairs back behind her ears. 

Marinette however winced. "Wait does that mean everyone knows who I am?!" 

Adrien shook his head "No. My cocoon hadn't finished forming yet the first time and you had already undone Marigolds work with miraculous cleanse the second time so no one saw your transformations." 

Marinette let out the breath she had been holding and flopped back onto the bed. "That’s a relief." She managed then yawned. She was still tired, no scratch that she was still exhausted and she wondered if Adrien felt the same way. 

"Though I have to say I loved seeing you with my ears and bell on. Then with your hair being down….mmmm" Adrien purred causing Marinette to splutter and sit back up. 

"It wasn’t by choice you silly cat!!" she cried then looked down realizing she still wore his miraculous. "Why didn't you take it back?" she asked moving to slip the ring off her finger. 

Adrien watched her, a slightly sad smile etching its way across his features. "I couldn’t bear to take it back. Not after what I asked of you in the first place. I guess I just figured that as long as you wore it…" he broke off looking away and slowly stood up. 

Marinette watched him as he slowly moved away from her. She took in his slumped shoulders the way his hands slowly clenched into fists and she knew that he needed her. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood albeit shakily. Quietly she moved up to him and buried her face into his back wrapping her arms around his middle. 

"You are the bravest, dumbest person Adrien Agaste and I love you. You saved me, and because of your trust in me I didn’t give up. I know why you told me to run and I am sorry I slapped you but you gave me the courage to fight. Do you not see that?" 

He stiffened at her words and reaching with her one hand she pressed his ring into his hand then curled his fingers around it. He wrapped his free hand around the arm that still encircled his waist and took a deep breath. "Can I turn around?" he asked and Marinette shook her head against his back feeling horribly embarrassed.

"Please Marinette I want to kiss you." He whispered 

Marinette felt herself flush and slowly she loosened her grip so he could turn in her arms. She looked up at him and was startled to see tears in his eyes. Before she could say anything about it though he pulled her into a kiss that left her breathless and once he pulled away he slipped his ring back onto his finger. 

"Wow" Marinette murmured clinging to him so her wobbly legs wouldn’t give out "If I knew that this is what kissing you was going to be like I don’t think I could have ever spoken to you." 

"Huh?" Adrien asked 

She blushed "I-I've kinda have had a crush on you for a long time and it's why I didn’t want to date you as Chat. Its why I was always so clumsy and stuttery around you." 

Adrien blinked a long slow cat like blink then began to laugh. 

"Its not funny!" Marinette cried shoving him in the chest and Adrien laughed harder even as he grabbed her hands bringing them up to his lips. 

"Oh my dear princess how right you are. Its not funny it's hilarious! Don’t you see?" he asked seeing her utterly confused look in her gorgeous blue eyes "We have been in love with each other this entire time but we didn’t realize it was us we were in love with!" 

Suddenly Marinette did see what he was talking about and together they collapsed into a pile of giggles. 

"I don’t mean to interrupt your sickeningly cutesy gooey moment but can we please get something to eat?" Plagg demanded flying into the air between them. 

"Plagg I told you not to interrupt them!" Tiki squealed grabbing hold of him and shaking him none to gently. 

With matching grins plastered on their faces Adrien and Marinette separated their kwamis. "So uh Marinette, I think this is a purr-fact time to ask you out on a date yes?" Adrien asked keeping his hands cupped around Plagg so he couldn’t escape. 

"You did not just use a cat pun to ask me out did you?" Marinette groaned rolling her eyes heavenward. 

"Paw-haps." Adrien answered cracking up even as she shoved him.

They left the apartment together and they stopped by Marinettes house to check in on her parents. Marinette felt bad leaving Adrien in her parents company to go take a shower but she really needed it. By the time she got out and changed she found that her parents had let him use their bathroom to freshen up as well. He pouted a little when he saw she had placed her hair back into its normal pigtails.

"I really like your hair when it's all wild and curled about your face." He whispered as they started to leave.   
Marinette smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder "Yes but it gets in my face too much when I run around." She answered and although he did see her point Adrien pouted. 

"I didn’t get to play with it though." He murmured and with a sigh Marinette paused mid-step to reach up and pull the one tie from her hair. Adrien had his hands in the other before she had a chance to pull it out and then he darted back holding the tie up so she could see it. 

"Hey give that back!" Marinette called and Adrien grinned 

"Only if you think you can catch me!" He answered and darted out the bakery door. 

Laughing Marinette swiftly followed and after she caught him they did in fact go on a date since school for the day was cancelled. They had to part company later so Adrien could answer his father's summons and Marinette could answer Alyas but they promised to meet back up later that night for patrol.   
The moment Alya opened the door to her home she had started chattering and squealing as she told Marinette what happened on her way to school. Marinette knew that Alya could be overenthusiastic when it came to Ladybug but this time she had been over the top. Alya had been ecstatic to tell Marinette all about witnessing Ladycats (as she called that particular transformation) fierce battle with Marigold. Marinette pretended that she had been cocooned as well so that it didn’t seem odd that she knew the dirty details about the battle. Then Alya had dropped the bomb on her. With Ninos help they had hacked into the metros cameras and to their absolute delight they had found Ladycats entire fight captured on film. They were in the process of editing it so that it was one continuous flowing fight scene when Marinette had arrived. Marinette had watched the film with a mixture of dread and awe surging through her. On one hand the fight really was an incredible thing to watch as she dodged weaved and fought against insurmountable odds. However she could feel every blow she watched herself take and she was glad when Alya had turned it off. The video left a strange taste in her mind because she knew that she would be called on to fight again and while she had been very lucky this time it was very possible that it would not always be the case. Regardless of the risk to her own life she would always answer the call and she knew somewhat instinctively that Adrien felt the same way. Exhausted she had left Alya to her overeager editing and gone home to her parents for a nap knowing that in a few short hours she would be back on patrol. 

The night air was cool and humid as Ladybug darted over rooftops on her way to meet up with Chat. They still had a lot to discuss but she could just feel deep within her bones that between them at least everything would work out ok. She wasn’t sure how they were going to reveal their new dating status to their friends but Ladybug figured that they could talk about it so they had a believable single story to tell. A shadow split away from a chimney and moments later Chat fell into step beside her. 

"You are looking as feline as ever My Lady." Chat said as they came to a halt on the roof of an abandoned building. 

Knowing the darkness hid them well Ladybug reached out and wrapped him in a hug. "I am so very glad to see you Chat." She whispered and Chat hugged her back careful that his claws didn’t prick her skin. 

"Plagg told me everything." He said squeezing her gently.

Ladybug sighed into his chest holding onto him a moment longer before he gently pulled away. She stared at him feeling more than a little confused as he took a step back and reached into his pocket. 

"I..uh…have something for you." Chat said "I mean I didn’t really do the whole asking out thing properly and we kind of already ruined the whole first kiss but I am really looking forward to truly getting to know you and I just wanted to give you something since I can't give you my miraculous." 

Ladybug blinked unsure of where he was going with this but then he opened his hand to reveal a ring. The band was made of a dark metal that was intricately woven and detailed so it looked like a cat stretched out. In the center where the front and back paws met was a single round ruby that had black imperfections making it seem as if the stones had spots. She gasped stunned at the rings beauty and looked up at him. "How did…Chat…I can't accept that…" She managed and Chat lifted her hand pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"I had it made because I hoped that one day My Lady would fall fur me." He purred and Ladybug yanked her hand away glaring at him.   
Chat laughed and recaptured her hand. "I'm joking My Lady… Kind of… I actually had it commissioned for you for Christmas but it didn’t get finished on time and I sorta chickened out." He amended making her chuckle. 

Gently he slid the ring onto her finger where it fit perfectly and Ladybug stared at the ring feeling a bit overwhelmed. 

"Its heavy." She whispered 

Chat brushed a hand over her cheek drawing her gaze back to him "That’s because it carries my heart."

Ladybugs eyes filled with tears, his words resonating deep within her "I will never take it off. You're forever stuck with me now."

Chat grinned his bright green eyes filled with joy "Fur-ever and ever? I can't wait My Lady."

Then wrapped in each other's arms, under the warm Parisian night sky they sealed the promise with a kiss.


	6. Akuma Picture Marigold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what Marigold looks like in my mind. I drew it with normal pencil then inked it with Prismacolor ink pens. I used prismacolor pencils to color with but not all the subtle shading translates well in photos. Hope you guys like it!

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/163482695@N03/46750170022/in/dateposted-public/)


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